Missouri, Alton police use GPS to find stolen car and arrest four suspects

APD takes four intocustody after stop

Alton officers point their weapons at the trunk of the car after opening the lid and checking to make sure nobody else was inside.

John Badman | The Telegraph

Alton Police canine officer Michael Morelli, left, secures one of the five men taken into custody Tuesday as Det. PJ Bennett, right, orders another suspect to exit a car stolen from Warrensburg, Missouri. Police said four of the five men found in the car would face charges.

John Badman | The Telegraph

Alton Police Det. PJ Bennett, right, points his Glock 23 at one of five suspects found inside a stolen car Tuesday on the northeast corner of the parking lot at Fast Eddie’s Bon Air in Alton. Bennett was ordering the suspect to walk toward him. Detectives and several patrol units had been tracking the stolen, newer model Chevrolet Malibu, via its internal links with OnStar. The vehicle was stolen from Warrensburg, Missouri. Police said four of the five men found inside the car would be charged with offenses related to a motor vehicle. The men were ordered from the car and taken into custody one at a time.

John Badman | The Telegraph

ALTON — Missouri authorities used a global positioning system Tuesday morning to long-distance track and direct Alton police to one of two cars stolen in Warrensburg.

At about 10 a.m., after the allegedly stolen, late-model white Chevrolet Malibu circled through Alton for at least 40 minutes — with a Telegraph staff member witnessing it speeding and disobeying a stop sign — police located and surrounded the car at the east end of Fast Eddie’s Bon Air tavern’s large, east parking lot in the 1600 block of East Broadway.

Chief Jason “Jake” Simmons, of the Alton Police Department, said the information from the GPS system in the car that Warrensburg police were tracking had a 1.5-minute delay in transmission, so Alton police were slightly delayed in trailing the car around the city.

Simmons said police were seeking the Malibu, and also a second vehicle that also was stolen from Warrensburg, and there was no pursuit of the vehicles.

The officers took five young men into custody at gunpoint, two being from Alton, Simmons said. The chief, though, said one of the city men would not be charged with an offense.

That back-seat passenger only had been released minutes before from Alton City Jail, at the Donald E. Sandidge Alton Law Enforcement Center at 1700 E. Broadway, on a charge of driving on a revoked/suspended license.

“He walked over to the (gas station) and asked if he could get a ride home, he apparently knew the guy in the car who is from Alton,” Simmons said. The Conoco gas station, formerly BP, is adjacent to the bar parking lot, just west of Washington Avenue.

Simmons said police did not find any drugs or weapons in the car.

Alton police plan to seek charges of offenses related to a motor vehicle on the other four men from the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office, for allegedly possessing the stolen car. Simmons said several males stole two vehicles Monday night after a college party in Warrensburg, which is east, southeast of Kansas City in mid-Missouri. The University of Central Missouri, formerly Central Missouri State University, is located in Warrensburg.

Simmons said the drivers came to Alton via the Clark Bridge, which illustrates a reason why he wants to obtain a license plate reader camera system with equipment posted on the bridge and nearby roadways.

“This is another great example of the need for the cameras on the bridge,” he said.

The readers mainly alert police if any vehicles that are reported stolen pass by, or if the owner is wanted on a felony warrant. For several years, authorities have blamed numerous people coming from North St. Louis city and county for crimes in Alton and Godfrey — from shoplifting to carjacking.

Simmons wants to purchase the six-camera system from Vigilant Solutions of California, and asked the village of Godfrey to contribute to the expense. Cost of the system would be about $89,000, plus $20,000 for installation and a yearly licensing fee of about $325 per camera.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, police had not located the second stolen vehicle. Simmons declined to give a description of the car or say if any of its occupants are from Alton.

Alton officers point their weapons at the trunk of the car after opening the lid and checking to make sure nobody else was inside.

http://www.thetelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_CarTheftArrests2SECONDARY.jpgAlton officers point their weapons at the trunk of the car after opening the lid and checking to make sure nobody else was inside. John Badman | The Telegraph

Alton Police canine officer Michael Morelli, left, secures one of the five men taken into custody Tuesday as Det. PJ Bennett, right, orders another suspect to exit a car stolen from Warrensburg, Missouri. Police said four of the five men found in the car would face charges.

http://www.thetelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_CarTheftArrests3JUMPorWEB.jpgAlton Police canine officer Michael Morelli, left, secures one of the five men taken into custody Tuesday as Det. PJ Bennett, right, orders another suspect to exit a car stolen from Warrensburg, Missouri. Police said four of the five men found in the car would face charges. John Badman | The Telegraph

Alton Police Det. PJ Bennett, right, points his Glock 23 at one of five suspects found inside a stolen car Tuesday on the northeast corner of the parking lot at Fast Eddie’s Bon Air in Alton. Bennett was ordering the suspect to walk toward him. Detectives and several patrol units had been tracking the stolen, newer model Chevrolet Malibu, via its internal links with OnStar. The vehicle was stolen from Warrensburg, Missouri. Police said four of the five men found inside the car would be charged with offenses related to a motor vehicle. The men were ordered from the car and taken into custody one at a time.

http://www.thetelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_CarTheftArrests1LEAD.jpgAlton Police Det. PJ Bennett, right, points his Glock 23 at one of five suspects found inside a stolen car Tuesday on the northeast corner of the parking lot at Fast Eddie’s Bon Air in Alton. Bennett was ordering the suspect to walk toward him. Detectives and several patrol units had been tracking the stolen, newer model Chevrolet Malibu, via its internal links with OnStar. The vehicle was stolen from Warrensburg, Missouri. Police said four of the five men found inside the car would be charged with offenses related to a motor vehicle. The men were ordered from the car and taken into custody one at a time. John Badman | The Telegraph